Actor Reg. E. Cathey Dead, At 59; Yale School of Drama Grad

Sad news: Actor Reg E. Cathey, the Emmy-winning actor known for his wide ranging roles including Freddy, the barbecue joint owner in TV's “House of Cards,” and Norman Wilson, a political aide in “The Wire died, at the age of 59 in New York, according to TM.Z The cause was lung cancer.

His movies included What About Bob?, Seven, Tank Girl, The Mask, S.W.A.T, The Machinist, and 2015’s Fantastic Four. Other TV credits include HBO's "Oz."

A Yale School of Drama grad, he most recently starred with Brian Dennehey in Samuel Beckett's Endgame" in January 2017 at Long Wharf Theatre.

The following is a piece that ran in American Theatre magazine last year"

Reg E. Cathey, known for roles on “House of Cards” and “The Wire,” has acted onstage in Julie Taymor’s The Green Bird and in Talk, for which he won an Obie. Next he appears opposite Brian Dennehy in Beckett’s Endgame at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 5-Feb. 5.

What’s your first theatrical memory?I grew up in Germany. My dad was an Army officer, and my mom worked for the Department of Defense. I saw a USO show of Guys and Dolls when I was 9 years old, and I remember Adelaide coming out wearing a towel and singing, “A person could develop a cold.” I thought, “This is what I’ve got to do.” I wanted to do something where women were walking around in towels.

You came back to your birthplace of Alabama as a teen in the early ’70s. How did that transition affect you?If you were a black kid on an Army base, you didn’t just represent your parents and your country but every black person in America. So we were taught very young that you don’t fight, you spoke well, you stood up straight and you put forth your argument forthrightly. When I came back to America it wasn’t like that at all. You didn’t have to represent anybody but yourself. It was very difficult for me. But you come to understand we’re evolving. We’re not what we were, and we’re not what we’re going to be.

Have you done Beckett before?This is my first time, I think, though I did some at school.

What was your experience like at Yale of School of Drama in the early ’80s?Looking back on it, it was fabulous and I made friends for life, but it was so much work and really difficult emotionally too, because of the death of two of our acting teachers, Norma Brustein and Rachel Roberts. I